Wilderness Festival, review: 'music plays second-fiddle'

Metronomy were impressive but Burt Bacharach and London Grammar disappointed
at Wilderness Festival, says Ben Travis

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London Grammar perform their headline set at Wilderness FestivalPhoto: Andre Camara

By Ben Travis

1:55PM BST 11 Aug 2014

With gourmet banquets, sunrise yoga sessions, and – shock, horror! – clean lavatories, Wilderness isn’t your typical music festival. Though the music remains at the top of the billing, it nonetheless feels like an aside to the vast array of other activities on offer.

A wander around the arena brought fresh curiosities at every turn – tumbling trapeze artists, an impromptu cricket match, not to mention the hordes of young professionals letting loose for the weekend, clad in leotards and glitter.

Those who tore themselves away from the distractions to the main stage were greeted by eccentric New Zealander Connan Mockasin, who lit up the stage on Friday night, weaving hypnotic Seventies dream-rock grooves which sounded like a Steely Dan record playing at half speed.

Headliners Metronomy fought through the rain, decked out in matching white suits befitting their latest guise as a slick retro-pop band. They delivered an exhilarating set of punchy electro-pop; from early song Radio Ladio with its jerking synth riff which sent arms flying and feet stomping, to set closer You Could Easily Have Me, which provided raucous guitar licks for a delirious finale.

Saturday night headliner Burt Bacharach proved less successful. Flanked by a full band, he sat behind the piano but barely sang a word. Backing singers took the lead on a parade of Bacharach’s classic compositions – a reminder of his remarkable back-catalogue, with What the World Needs Now is Love, I Say a Little Prayer and Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head sparking mass sing-alongs. For the Saturday night climax, however, it all felt a bit too Sunday afternoon.

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Sunday evening was a more chart-friendly affair. Sam Smith celebrated the transatlantic success of his debut album In the Lonely Hour with a performance that relied heavily on soppy ballads, though a cover of Arctic Monkeys’ storming Do I Wanna Know? impressed. The buoyant Restart, co-written by Zane Lowe, helped banish the downpours that plagued the rest of the day.

London soul singer Jessie Ware previewed her forthcoming second album Tough Love in full – not the most involving set of the day, but a treat for fans. A new song written with Solange-collaborator Dev Hynes sounded particularly special, while 2012 hit Wildest Moments was a welcome relief after so many unfamiliar numbers.

Bringing the weekend to a close were London Grammar. Though technically proficient, their set felt too lightweight to be the festival’s big finale. Songs from the trio’s debut album If You Wait occasionally blossomed into life, but unlike fellow trio the xx, their minimalist pop all too often lost its footing, struggling to strike the balance between movingly atmospheric and warbling mundanity.

Wilderness offered plenty of activities but for those coming strictly for the music, they would have been better off seeking thrills elsewhere.